2018 Ohio State Basketball

Yes the riot at Williams Arena was one of the most terrible incidents in the history of sports. I was 10 going on 11 and with the late start 9:00 our time I was not able to watch the game (bed time,school night). I remember having a very animated conversation at the dinner table with my parents that night. The conversation ended with me vowing to never root for teams from Minnesota in any sport. I did however root for Jim Brewer when he was a Cavalier as he tried to help The OSU players during the melee.

Big road win for the Buckeyes @Illinois 77-67. Balanced scoring and strong defense again.

Nice win vs UCLA. They struggled a little in the first half but opened it up in the second. 

I'm still not sure how good this team is. Most of their wins are against average at best teams. 

Yeah, I want to see this team against UM and MSU.

posted by FatHobbit

Nice win vs UCLA. They struggled a little in the first half but opened it up in the second. 

I'm still not sure how good this team is. Most of their wins are against average at best teams. 

lol--unbelievable...Matta's teams would be .500 at best at this juncture...guess we'll see soon enough

posted by vball10set

lol--unbelievable...Matta's teams would be .500 at best at this juncture...guess we'll see soon enough

His last couple, yes. In general, lol, no.

posted by Heretic

His last couple, yes. In general, lol, no.

I still wonder what would have happened Matta's last year if Keita hadn't been injured. 

posted by vball10set

lol--unbelievable...Matta's teams would be .500 at best at this juncture...guess we'll see soon enough

This was not a shot at Holtman. I think he's doing a great job. I just don't know how good they are yet. I looked at who they beat so far and what their record is now

Cincinnati 11-2

PFW 8-7

Creighton's 8-4

SCST 2-13

Samford 10-4

Cleveland st 5-8

Syracuse 8-4

Minnesota 10-2

Illinois 4-8

Bucknell 5-6

YSU 4-9

UCLA 7-5

Cincinnati and Minnesota are doing better than I thought. I thought they showed something during the UCLA game that Cinci lost by 29 to UCLA but I must have read it wrong and they actually beat UCLA by 29. I also didn't realize Minnesota was 10-2. I'm real curious to see how they do against MSU and @Iowa. 

Big Ten has several good teams,we shall see how it all shakes out. The biggest change I see from Matta's last two years is that there is a 100% percent buy in to whatever it is that Holtman is selling. Total team basketball,good effort every night on both ends of the court. Matta's last two years they didn't look like they wanted to be out there half of the time. I don't see the Meh effort anymore. This team is fun to watch.

posted by cat_lover

Big Ten has several good teams,we shall see how it all shakes out. The biggest change I see from Matta's last two years is that there is a 100% percent buy in to whatever it is that Holtman is selling. Total team basketball,good effort every night on both ends of the court. Matta's last two years they didn't look like they wanted to be out there half of the time. I don't see the Meh effort anymore. This team is fun to watch.

And that's a very good thing this year, with the team not being super-talented offensively (ie: if Kaleb is in foul trouble and/or the 3s aren't dropping, it's going to be a slog). If they weren't giving max effort and playing hard on defense, this year would be a struggle (just look at the Bucknell game for how much of a struggle things were when, due to a 10-day layoff, they weren't at their best defensively), but since they are, they're a top-15 team right now and have the potential to be in the mix for a top-4 seed in a VERY strong conference.

posted by cat_lover

  This team is fun to watch.

period

Coach was down in Logan (as was Stanford’s) coach watch 7’2 Zach Loveday of Gallia Academy. Loveday struggled and had just 11 points ....but only a junior

How can a 7'2" kid in high school struggle and only have 11 points.  Does he not have a lot of skill?  

posted by ernest_t_bass

How can a 7'2" kid in high school struggle and only have 11 points.  Does he not have a lot of skill?  

His team around him is ho hum and pretty stubbornly coached. They did face a pretty talented Logan team....but at 7’2 you do want more. He can get up and down the floor good, dribble, shoot but not strong. This is at least the 4th time Holtmann has came to watch him and he had an official visit to Michigan last week. The big timers want him. He’s a good kid but not sure he’ll ever be a big time player. Rumor to be headed to Huntington Prep his senior year but not sure because his 6’4 freshman brother will likely be a 6’7 or so sophomore to go alongside of him.

He needs 25 more lbs of muscle and a prep school....but regardless sounds like he’s going big time D1 and that’s damn rare around here

Didn't get home and get the TV on until midway through the first half, but the Bucks playing a strong game so far against their toughest opponent to date. Kaleb is playing tough.

Really wish we could have had 3-4 years of Ward vs Kaleb. Both guys are so good. 

Buckeyes come up short but it still was a solid effort.

posted by cat_lover

Buckeyes come up short but it still was a solid effort.

I listened on the radio and it sounded like once Wesson fouled out the wheels fell off. It was close until the end and they started fouling. (And fouling out) 

It seemed like once K. Wesson got 4 fouls to Ward's 1. that the handwriting was on the wall.